There are several reasons that ink-jet printing has become a popular way of recording images on various media surfaces, particularly paper. Some of these reasons include low printer noise, capability of high-speed recording, and multi-color recording. Additionally, these advantages can be obtained at a relatively low price to consumers. With respect to ink-jet ink chemistry, the majority of commercial ink-jet inks are water-based. Thus, their constituents are generally water-soluble, as in the case with many dyes, or water dispersible, as in the case with pigments. Furthermore, ink-jet inks have low viscosity to accommodate high frequency jetting and firing chamber refill processes common to ink-jet architecture.
Traditionally, dyes have been used as colorants in thermal ink-jet inks due to their vibrant colors, low cost, and compatibility with thermal ink-jet pens. However, images produced by dye-based inks tend to lack durability, i.e. they exhibit low water fastness, smear fastness, and light fastness. Replacing dyes with pigments as colorants can improve some of these properties, but the presence of pigments can result in images that have a surface that can suffer from lessened smear fastness. Polymers or latexes may be used in ink-jet inks to improve image durability. However, when present as additives, latexes can contribute to increased viscosity due to the increased number of particles suspended in the ink. Additionally, latexes can hamper printing reliability as the increased viscosity increases clogging and misdirected print drops. As such, ink-jet applications would benefit from latexes that improve durability but do not hamper print reliability.